I was so happy with Formo Toys' 5.5" Legends of Dragonore figures , that I recently scooped up a couple of their Warriors of the Galaxy figures, Spikes and Ygg. While they don't have quite the level of articulation that the recent MOTU Origins figures possess, they do have additional swivel joints at the forearms and boot tops that classic 5.5" figures from the '80s lacked and their parts are…
I purchased these on a whim from Nerdzoic , never having experienced a Boss Fight Studio figure in-hand. While I don't have much in the way of these characters in my collection, none of Red Sonja in fact, I was born in the '70s and do love Masters of the Universe, Dungeons and Dragons, fantasy and the like. These figures are in the same scale/build as a lot of the 5.5" figures of that era, but…
Some time ago I bought some Stan Solo figures off an eBay seller, including this handsome, detailed Boba Fett . It manages to capture the spirit of my long-lost childhood Fett, even improves upon the design without losing that Kenner feel. The cloth cape and peg-on jet pack make him feel deluxe, and the rifle fits better with the character than the Imperial blaster included with the 1979 Fett.…
I enjoyed the new Masters of the Universe film well enough but had little interest in collecting all the figures until I saw a few out on the pegs I liked. I rarely pick up an of the basic line movie figures from any movie franchise, but Teela and Man-At-Arms looked good and worth a try. Though they have no ankle articulation, the hinge swivel knees help with their balance and they are quite…
I've mostly collected 3.75" Star Wars figures that are vintage, Retro Collection, or POTF 2, but I couldn't resist this Sage Legends Jedi Luke Skywalker in all his appropriate attire for his confrontation with Emperor Palpatine. I also found the Emperor on eBay loose/uncarded- another Retro Collection figure that looks just like the figure I had in the '80s. I loved the design of Darth Vader in…
I saved a little money piecing the Kenner Dagobah Playset together with some reproduction parts, all of which were new to me not having had it in 1981 , the year of its release. I disassembled it to clean and replace the foam in the pit and admired the bowl and spoon sculpting detail on the stump inside. The 3-D printed branch with figure clasp and crates left a little to be desired, but were a…
There was non-stop hatred poured onto Hasbro's 3.75" Star Wars Retro Collection, but it allowed me to have some of the figures from my childhood again without paying exorbitant prices for vintage figures, among those being the Retro Collection Darth Vader , pictured below on the right next to my vintage Kenner Darth Vader , which I outfitted with a reproduction telescoping red lightsaber! There…
While picking up the Death Star Playset from Cardboard Galaxy featured in my last post, I also purchased a Bespin Hallway background for some recent Kenner Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back figures I found. Lobot is a figure from that collection I feel is essential to the celebrated sequel to Star Wars, pictured below with his boss, my Retro Collection Lando Calrissian : The real prize of this…
I've purchased a few of these background dioramas from Cardboard Galaxy , but this Death Star Playset Multilevel Display is by far the largest and most complex. The sidewalls are of a thinner stock than the corrugated second and third level floor inserts, and though I feel the set could be improved by having a taller first and second level, I had no initial problems posing figures on it. I'm…
Inspired by another Star Wars 12" Kenner kitbash doll I picked up earlier in the year, I assembled my own Return of the Jedi Endor Leia using the '78 Kenner Leia body, with outfit and parts from a 2017 Forces of Destiny Endor Leia/Wicket the Ewok set. I like the Carrie Fisher likeness on the '78 doll. but the '17 outfit offered a unique twist in presentation. The latter also included the Ewok…
I'm collecting more of the conventional 5POA-type Star Wars figures than I am the later 1995 Power of the Force figures, but there were a lot of vehicles from that line that are compatible with the '70s/'80s Kenner figures and new Retro Collection figures. This Dewback isn't really, but fun nonetheless, and I got him for south of twenty bucks shipped on a recent eBay auction. The action feature on…
My original Kenner Landspeeder from 1978 has long been lost to time, but I was lucky enough to find this POTF Landspeeder for twenty bucks in a local resale store, unopened. This 1995 revamp of the earlier version features an updated, distressed deco, and bouncier suspension. It must have been a real squeeze fitting the bulkier 1995 POTF 2 figures into this Landspeeder- even these more slender…
For some time, I had contemplated buying a vintage Kenner Land of the Jawas playset , but after purchasing a couple of the more modest figure backdrops from Cardboard Galaxy , I opted to supplement a base and escape pod I found on eBay with one of theirs made to fit. While it didn't have the impressive size of the cardboard Sandcrawler on the 1979 playset, the Cardboard Galaxy backdrop gave me two…
My journey to building a Jawa collection had been slow up until recently, purchasing a 7" 3-D printed vinyl cape Jawa from Rad Vintage Toys on eBay, as well as two 1:18 scale Stan Solo vinyl cape Jawas. Rad Vintage has several of these 1:6 scale Kenner style figures that help collectors fill in the gaps in their Gentle Giant 1:6 scale Star Wars collections. The characteristic silken texture of 3-D…
I've only acquired ten of the first twelve Kenner Star Wars figures released again in Hasbro's Retro Collection, but this post will cover the first twelve figures released by Kenner in 1978 - the remaining two I actually have vintage samples of. I had every one of these figures as a child, and though I sold off or gifted them all since, I've had fun rediscovering them as an adult. There were a lot…
I've collected a couple of Yoda figures recently: a more recent 2" Kenner Retro Collection Yoda and a 4.75" Action Collection Yoda from '97. I really wanted a 3.75" scale Yoda like I had as a kid and lucked upon the Retro Collection Yoda at a decent price- better than I could find a clean vintage sample for. Cracking open a fresh Yoda like I had in youth was kind of a thrill in spite of some…
I had such a great time building the Blokees Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in Stormtrooper Disguise , that I had to circle back and scoop up the Champion Class Darth Vader- a magnificent looking and well-articulated model with lots of extra hand options and even an alternate "swooshing" lightsaber blade. There were just a few less parts than the Luke and Han Stormtrooper Blokees I put together, 90…
For some time, I've been curious about these fantastic Blokees model kits - all the rage currently, some of the collector community claiming their superiority over the 6" Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series due to their high detail and great articulation. While I don't collect Star Wars Black Series, the sight of both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in stormtrooper disguise finally pushed me…
As I began collecting a few 3.75" Kenner Star Wars figures awhile back for the first time since childhood, these four denizens of the Mos Eisley cantina were a priority in my book; I had them all as a kid, and they were some of the 2nd wave of Star Wars figures released by Kenner in 1978. I bought the Mos Eisley Streets backdrop from Cardboard Galaxy of eBay- it's somewhat flimsy for the expense…
I had a Kenner Darth Vader TIE Fighter in the '80s which had lights and sounds, a feature sadly missing from this 1995 update. The Power of the Force TIE had added sculpt on the wings however- a definite improvement on the decals used on the original ship. You can find these used at relatively reasonable prices. There's a white version of this produced in 2003 as well (like Kenner's original 1979…
I sold the remaining childhood Kenner Star Wars figures I had six years ago, but the forthcoming 50th anniversary of Star Wars has stirred some nostalgia in me. The Empire Strikes Back might have made a bigger impression on me as I was a little older, and it's probably my favorite of the original trilogy for the same reasons as a lot of fans. Bespin Han Solo Not my childhood Bespin Han, but a…
I'm pretty sure I only heard about the Mego Disney Store Avengers 4pk just a week or so before it dropped, mine arriving just five days after I ordered it online without incident. Some collectors reported receiving badly damaged boxes, but mine arrived unscathed. I think Mego adjusted their inventory numbers with the online giant after grossly miscalculating the initial Fantastic Four set, which…
I'm mostly sure I didn't have a Mego Captain America as a child in the '70s, in spite of the figure's long run from '73 to '82. I remember having Batman and Robin, Superman, Hulk, Spider-Man, Joker, and Penguin, but not Cap. I suspect this sample falls somewhere in the middle of his production run due to his Type 2 body construction, darker flesh tone and stitched belt. I bought a fabric star to…
Continuing with my 12" Kenner Star Wars collection, I present my 1979 Obi-Wan Kenobi , mentor to both Anakin and Luke Skywalker. Mine is a pretty good sample with only some wear to the belt buckle and a few loose stiches in his turtleneck. His paint is clean, robe in good shape and has his original yellow lightsaber. Obi-Wan was not among the larger Kenner figures in my childhood collection, so…
The Star Wars X-Wing Pilot and I go way back - Kenner's original 3.75" figure from 1978 was one of the first of that scale I had. He wasn't my favorite Star Wars figure back then, but as an adult I have a much greater appreciation for his detailed sculpt and bright orange flight suit. This post will showcase the figures of that character in my collection. When I found Epic Heroes Series Force…